Ghislaine Stigter-van der Tol of the Netherlands defeated Santtu Tahvanainen of Finland, 186-182, to win the 7th Sofia International Open 2016
Sunday at bowling center Joy Station in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The all-time European Bowling Tour women’s titlist (pictured right) who has won four tournaments earned the No. 1 seed for the four-player stepladder finals by leading the fourth and last 4-game round of the finals.

In the opening match third-seeded Tahvanainen (left) ousted seven-time European champion Jesper Agerbo of Denmark, 234-210, and then flew past No. 2 seed Karsten Aust of Germany, 279-193, to earn the right to bowl Stigter-van der Tol for the title.

The long-time Dutch national team member, who received eight pins handicap each game, became the second woman to win the Sofia International Open after Joline Persson Planefors of Sweden in the year 2013.

The seventh edition of the popular event which doesn’t belong to the European Bowling Tour drew 232 players, 201 men and 31 women, from 28 countries. With total prize money of more than 50.000 Euro the tournament would have been the 7th richest on the 2016 European Bowling Tour.

The 7th Sofia International Open 2016 was held from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6 at bowling center Joy Station, a 20-laner in the capital city of Bulgaria. The tournament offered total prize fund of 55.000 Euro with 7.000 Euro going to the winner and a last-to-cash payout of 350 Euro for 56th place.

Qualifying of the Sofia Open ran from Oct. 29 through Saturday, Nov. 5 and concluded with the one-game Desperado Squad. Women received 8 pins handicap each game (maximum is 300).

Total 56 players advanced to the finals on Sunday, Nov 6, including top 44 qualifiers, top 6 from squads 1-16, top 2 from squads 17-25, and top 4 of the Desperado Squad. Top 8 qualifiers earned two byes and qualifiers 9-16 received a first-round bye.

The other 40 players advanced to the first of four 4-game rounds (rounds 1-3 starting from scratch). The field was trimmed to 36, 20, and then 10 players who determined the finalists in the last four-game round with the pinfall from Round 3 carried forward. The top 4 after eight games bowled for the title in a traditional stepladder final.

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7th Sofia International Open – Stepladder Finals

Bowling center Joy Station in Sofia, Bulgaria (Oct. 29 – Nov. 6, 2016)

Championship Round:
1. Ghislaine Stigter-van der Tol, Netherlands, 186 (1 game), 7.000 Euro
2. Santtu Tahvanainen, Finland, 695 (3 games), 5.000 Euro
3. Karsten Aust, Germany, 193 (1 game), 3.500 Euro
4. Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 210 (1 game), 2.500 Euro

Playoff Results:
First Match: No. 3 Tahvanainen def. No. 4 Agerbo, 234-210
Second Match: Tahvanainen def. No. 2 Aust, 279-193
Championship: No. 1 Stigter-van der Tol (f) def. Tahvanainen, 186-182.
(f) score includes eight pins handicap.

7th Sofia International Open – Places 5-56 (Cashers)

5. Adam Andersson, Sweden, 2.000 Euro
6. Anton Elofsson, Sweden, 1.700 Euro
7. Hadley Morgan, England, 1.400 Euro
8. Nikolay Selin, Ukraine, 1.200 Euro
9. Jaroslav Lorenc, Czech Republic, 1.000 Euro
10. Mattias Olsson, Sweden, 1.000 Euro
11. Kristoffer Persson, Sweden, 700 Euro
12. Christoffer Jakobsson, Sweden, 700 Euro
13. Mattias Wetterberg, Sweden, 700 Euro
14. Krzysztof Olesinski, Poland, 700 Euro
15. Anže Grabrijan, Slovenia, 700 Euro
16. William Svensson, Sweden, 700 Euro
17. Zoran Banjac, Croatia, 700 Euro
18. Ian Robinson, Sweden, 700 Euro
19. Jari Ratia, Finland, 700 Euro
20. Alfred Berggren, Sweden, 700 Euro
21. Alexandros Pantelidis, Greece, 500 Euro
22. Didi Ilieva, Bulgaria, 500 Euro
23. Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 500 Euro
24. Vasilis Stefopoulos, Greece, 500 Euro
25. Tim Cerkvenik, Slovenia, 500 Euro
26. Georgos Stefanidis, Greece, 500 Euro
27. Dian Dinev, Bulgaria, 500 Euro
28. Plamen Stanchev, Bulgaria, 500 Euro
29. Piearpaolo De Filippi, Italy, 500 Euro
30. Dennis Eklund, Sweden, 500 Euro
31. Eliaz Olsson, Sweden, 500 Euro
32. Yiola Pastou, Cyprus, 500 Euro
33. Brian Voss, United States, 500 Euro
34. Bojan Kovachic, Serbia, 500 Euro
35. Barry Foley, Ireland, 500 Euro
36. Jord van Weeren, Netherlands, 500 Euro
37. Kenneth Ankerdal, Denmark, 350 Euro
38. Mehmet Kaya, Turkey, 350 Euro
39. Victor Dumitrascu, Romania, 350 Euro
40. Anders Lousdal, Denmark, 350 Euro
41. Jesper Larsen, Sweden, 350 Euro
42. Kaloyan Ivanov, Bulgaria, 350 Euro
43. Tomas Käyhkö, Finland, 350 Euro
44. Yavor Milanov, Bulgaria, 350 Euro
45. Romeo Gagenoiu, Romania, 350 Euro
46. Nikita Koshelev, Russia, 350 Euro
47. Oron Cohen, Israel, 350 Euro
48. Nikolay Petrov, Bulgaria, 350 Euro
49. Michael Loos, Austria, 350 Euro
50. Kaaron Salomaa, Finland, 350 Euro
51. Omer Nechushtan, Israel, 350 Euro
52. Gheorghe Nicolae, Romania, 350 Euro
53. Nadezda Korablinova, Russia, 350 Euro
54. Borjan Binev, Bulgaria, 350 Euro
55. Ruslan Vasilev, Bulgaria, 350 Euro
56. Leonidas Maragkos, Greece, 350 Euro

7th Sofia International Open 2016 – Round Four Results

Top 4 advance to the stepladder finals.

Pos	Player	Country	Rd. 3	G5	G6	G7	G8	Pins	Avg.	Hc	Rd. 4	Total
1.	Ghislaine Stigter-van der Tol	Netherlands	891	215	233	183	193	824	206.00	32	856	1747
2.	Karsten Aust	Germany	908	201	235	233	165	834	208.50		834	1742
3.	Santtu Tahvanainen	Finland	820	247	257	213	198	915	228.75		915	1735
4.	Jesper Agerbo	Denmark	852	214	164	241	246	865	216.25		865	1717
5.	Adam Andersson	Sweden	866	178	198	197	244	817	204.25		817	1683
6.	Anton Elofsson	Sweden	833	212	204	207	225	848	212.00		848	1681
7.	Hadley Morgan	England	861	206	216	186	190	798	199.50		798	1659
8.	Nikolay Selin	Ukraine	819	191	213	213	163	780	195.00	32	812	1631
9.	Jaroslav Lorenc	Czech Republic	819	137	206	235	191	769	192.25		769	1588
10.	Mattias Olsson	Sweden	849	191	180	172	186	729	182.25		729	1578

7th Sofia International Open 2016 – Round Threee Results

Top 10 advance to the fourth round.

Pos	Player	Country	G1	G2	G3	G4	Pins	Avg.	Hc	Total
1.	Karsten Aust	Germany	194	253	197	264	908	227.00		908
2.	Ghislaine Stigter-van der Tol	Netherlands	224	185	203	247	859	214.75	32	891
3.	Adam Andersson	Sweden	256	214	217	179	866	216.50		866
4.	Hadley Morgan	England	226	222	177	236	861	215.25		861
5.	Jesper Agerbo	Denmark	200	219	227	206	852	213.00		852
6.	Mattias Olsson	Sweden	222	221	248	158	849	212.25		849
7.	Anton Elofsson	Sweden	204	220	227	182	833	208.25		833
8.	Santtu Tahvanainen	Finland	202	244	170	204	820	205.00		820
9.	Nikolay Selin	Ukraine	199	186	185	217	787	196.75	32	819
10.	Jaroslav Lorenc	Czech Republic	192	232	220	175	819	204.75		819
11.	Kristoffer Persson	Sweden	222	173	238	179	812	203.00		812
12.	Christoffer Jakobsson	Sweden	215	193	186	213	807	201.75		807
13.	Mattias Wetterberg	Sweden	194	181	214	212	801	200.25		801
14.	Krzysztof Olesinski	Poland	195	245	169	186	795	198.75		795
15.	Anže Grabrijan	Slovenia	195	211	152	233	791	197.75		791
16.	William Svensson	Sweden	170	206	201	184	761	190.25		761
17.	Zoran Banjac	Croatia	192	191	183	192	758	189.50		758
18.	Ian Robinson	Sweden	170	179	191	212	752	188.00		752
19.	Jari Ratia	Finland	190	149	182	213	734	183.50		734
20.	Alfred Berggren	Sweden	137	198	171	179	685	171.25		685

7th Sofia International Open 2016 – Round Two Results

Top 12 advance to the third round.

Pos	Player	Country	G1	G2	G3	G4	Pins	Avg.	Hc	Total
1.	Mattias Olsson	Sweden	267	222	268	207	964	241.00		964
2.	Mattias Wetterberg	Sweden	251	192	191	215	849	212.25		849
3.	Ian Robinson	Sweden	239	189	217	202	847	211.75		847
4.	Jari Ratia	Finland	228	241	205	164	838	209.50		838
5.	Anže Grabrijan	Slovenia	180	213	233	205	831	207.75		831
6.	Ghislaine Stigter-van der Tol	Netherlands	202	202	176	208	788	197.00	32	820
7.	Zoran Banjac	Croatia	200	210	214	194	818	204.50		818
8.	Jaroslav Lorenc	Czech Republic	220	237	183	169	809	202.25		809
9.	Karsten Aust	Germany	207	193	191	216	807	201.75		807
10.	Adam Andersson	Sweden	188	199	188	225	800	200.00		800
11.	Krzysztof Olesinski	Poland	203	200	154	231	788	197.00		788
12.	Kristoffer Persson	Sweden	200	207	170	207	784	196.00		784
13.	Alexandros Pantelidis	Greece	194	174	202	203	773	193.25		773
14.	Didi Ilieva	Bulgaria	150	195	161	230	736	184.00	32	768
15.	Daniel Fransson	Sweden	179	201	200	184	764	191.00		764
16.	Vasilis Stefopoulos	Greece	178	192	193	191	754	188.50		754
17.	Tim Cerkvenik	Slovenia	193	158	179	223	753	188.25		753
18.	Georgos Stefanidis	Greece	161	205	185	195	746	186.50		746
19.	Dian Dinev	Bulgaria	183	188	173	200	744	186.00		744
20.	Plamen Stanchev	Bulgaria	206	213	139	184	742	185.50		742
21.	Piearpaolo De Filippi	Italy	178	203	198	153	732	183.00		732
22.	Dennis Eklund	Sweden	172	168	202	185	727	181.75		727
23.	Eliaz Olsson	Sweden	181	203	176	165	725	181.25		725
24.	Yiola Pastou	Cyprus	168	182	148	193	691	172.75	32	723
25.	Brian Voss	United States	179	168	212	160	719	179.75		719
26.	Bojan Kovachic	Serbia	174	175	189	174	712	178.00		712
27.	Barry Foley	Ireland	176	176	178	172	702	175.50		702
28.	Jord van Weeren	Netherlands	132	203	169	149	653	163.25		653

7th Sofia International Open 2016 – Round One Results

Top 20 advance to the second round.

Pos	Player	Country	G1	G2	G3	G4	Pins	Avg.	Hc	Total
1.	Jaroslav Lorenc	Czech Republic	205	217	246	259	927	231.75		927
2.	Ian Robinson	Sweden	200	246	238	177	861	215.25		861
3.	Barry Foley	Ireland	205	233	189	227	854	213.50		854
4.	Tim Cerkvenik	Slovenia	247	225	180	200	852	213.00		852
5.	Brian Voss	United States	209	191	269	180	849	212.25		849
6.	Piearpaolo De Filippi	Italy	189	183	233	229	834	208.50		834
7.	Krzysztof Olesinski	Poland	210	220	199	204	833	208.25		833
8.	Jord van Weeren	Netherlands	227	224	204	163	818	204.50		818
9.	Anže Grabrijan	Slovenia	207	174	234	197	812	203.00		812
10.	Adam Andersson	Sweden	209	221	201	172	803	200.75		803
11.	Yiola Pastou	Cyprus	212	212	173	169	766	191.50	32	798
12.	Alexandros Pantelidis	Greece	207	211	182	197	797	199.25		797
13.	Kristoffer Persson	Sweden	204	198	205	189	796	199.00		796
14.	Didi Ilieva	Bulgaria	193	179	178	213	763	190.75	32	795
15.	Dian Dinev	Bulgaria	184	202	185	218	789	197.25		789
16.	Plamen Stanchev	Bulgaria	161	242	214	168	785	196.25		785
17.	Dennis Eklund	Sweden	214	190	202	178	784	196.00		784
18.	Karsten Aust	Germany	190	212	181	198	781	195.25		781
19.	Zoran Banjac	Croatia	233	184	186	178	781	195.25		781
20.	Eliaz Olsson	Sweden	201	160	212	207	780	195.00		780
21.	Kenneth Ankerdal	Denmark	194	226	158	200	778	194.50		778
22.	Mehmet Kaya	Turkey	180	183	227	187	777	194.25		777
23.	Victor Dumitrascu	Romania	193	214	173	190	770	192.50		770
24.	Anders Lousdal	Denmark	155	203	239	172	769	192.25		769
25.	Jesper Larsen	Sweden	202	182	212	169	765	191.25		765
26.	Kaloyan Ivanov	Bulgaria	192	179	191	202	764	191.00		764
27.	Tomas Käyhkö	Finland	182	219	173	186	760	190.00		760
28.	Yavor Milanov	Bulgaria	161	175	213	202	751	187.75		751
29.	Romeo Gagenoiu	Romania	177	225	162	187	751	187.75		751
30.	Nikita Koshelev	Russia	183	202	180	186	751	187.75		751
31.	Oron Cohen	Israel	178	212	172	185	747	186.75		747
32.	Nikolay Petrov	Bulgaria	212	166	203	166	747	186.75		747
33.	Michael Loos	Austria	189	168	173	215	745	186.25		745
34.	Kaaron Salomaa	Finland	199	175	200	165	739	184.75		739
35.	Omer Nechushtan	Israel	171	207	185	131	694	173.50		694
36.	Gheorghe Nicolae	Romania	153	151	185	183	672	168.00		672
37.	Nadezda Korablinova	Russia	165	134	156	169	624	156.00	32	656
38.	Borjan Binev	Bulgaria	168	137	167	168	640	160.00		640
39.	Ruslan Vasilev	Bulgaria	178	161	151	149	639	159.75		639
40.	Leonidas Maragkos	Greece	0	0	0	0	0	0		no show